Min chef siger, at en kort arbejdsdag på onsdag gør hele ugen lettere.

Because min already makes the noun definite in Danish.

• min chef = my boss
• You do not also add the definite ending -en to chef

So:

• en chef = a boss
• chefen = the boss
• min chef = my boss

This is different from English in form, but similar in logic: once you say my, you do not also say the.

In standard Danish, a comma is usually written before a subordinate clause, and at often introduces one.

So the sentence is divided like this:

• Min chef siger = main clause
• at en kort arbejdsdag på onsdag gør hele ugen lettere = subordinate clause

Danish comma rules are stricter and more regular than English comma usage in similar sentences, so learners often notice this.

Here at means that and introduces a subordinate clause.

• Min chef siger, at ... = My boss says that ...

In English, that is often optional:

• My boss says that ...
• My boss says ...

In Danish, at is very commonly used in this kind of sentence.

This is an example of an indefinite noun phrase:

• en = a
• kort = short
• arbejdsdag = workday / working day

So:

• en arbejdsdag = a workday
• en kort arbejdsdag = a short workday

The adjective kort appears in its common-gender singular indefinite form here, which matches arbejdsdag, a common-gender noun.

Yes, arbejdsdag is one word because Danish, like German, very often forms compound nouns.

• arbejde = work
• dag = day
• arbejds- is the combining form
• arbejdsdag = workday

English sometimes writes similar ideas as two words, but Danish usually prefers compounds. So learners should get used to long nouns being written as a single word.

In Danish, på is commonly used with days when talking about something happening on that day.

• på onsdag = on Wednesday

This matches English fairly well:

• on Wednesday
• Danish: på onsdag

So på is the normal preposition here.

Usually, yes. På onsdag normally means this Wednesday / next Wednesday, depending on the time context.

It refers to the Wednesday relevant to the conversation. If necessary, Danish speakers can be more specific, but in everyday speech på onsdag is very natural.

Because the subject of gør is not ugen; the subject is the whole noun phrase en kort arbejdsdag på onsdag.

Break it down:

• Subject: en kort arbejdsdag på onsdag
• Verb: gør
• Object/complement: hele ugen lettere

So the sentence says:

• A short workday on Wednesday makes the whole week easier

Since the subject is singular (a short workday), the verb is singular too. In Danish present tense, the verb form does not change much the way English does, but the structure still matters.

Because ugen is the definite form: the week.

• en uge = a week
• ugen = the week
• hele ugen = the whole week

In Danish, hele often combines naturally with a definite noun when you mean the whole ...:

• hele dagen = the whole day
• hele ugen = the whole week
• hele året = the whole year

So hele ugen is exactly what you would expect here.

Because lettere is the comparative form of let.

• let = easy / light
• lettere = easier

The structure is:

• gør hele ugen lettere = makes the whole week easier

After gør, Danish often uses an adjective to describe the new state of something:

• gøre noget nemmere = make something easier
• gøre noget bedre = make something better
• gøre noget sværere = make something harder

So lettere is correct because the meaning is comparative: the short workday makes the week easier.

Yes, often you could.

• lettere = easier
• nemmere = easier

But there is a slight nuance:

• nem often means easy in the sense of simple or not difficult
• let can also mean easy, but it can have a slightly broader or lighter-feeling sense depending on context

In this sentence, both could work:

• gør hele ugen lettere
• gør hele ugen nemmere

The original sentence sounds natural and idiomatic.

This follows normal Danish clause structure.

Inside the subordinate clause after at, the order is:

• subject: en kort arbejdsdag på onsdag
• verb: gør
• object/complement: hele ugen lettere

A key point for English speakers is that Danish main clauses often have verb-second word order, but subordinate clauses introduced by at usually keep a more straightforward order with the subject before the verb.

So this is a good example of normal subordinate clause word order.

Because the sentence is stating a general or current opinion:

• Min chef siger ... = My boss says ...

Danish present tense often works like English present tense in this kind of statement. It can describe:

• something being said now
• a general opinion
• a repeated statement

The verb sige becomes siger in the present tense.

Their infinitives are:

• siger → sige = to say
• gør → gøre = to do / make

In this sentence:

• siger means says
• gør means makes

So gøre can mean more than just do; it often means make in structures like this:

• Det gør mig glad. = It makes me happy.
• Det gør arbejdet lettere. = It makes the work easier.

Yes, chef is a very common word in Danish and means boss, manager, or chief, depending on context.

In everyday speech:

• min chef usually means my boss

It is an ordinary noun, not especially formal. Danish also has job titles like leder, direktør, and others, but chef is very common in daily language.

The main stress would usually fall on the words carrying the key information, often something like:

• chef
• kort
• onsdag
• gør
• hele ugen
• lettere

A natural rhythm might highlight the contrastive or important idea:

• Min chef siger, at en KORT arbejdsdag på ONSDAG gør hele UGEN LETTERE.

Of course, stress changes depending on what the speaker wants to emphasize, but this is the general idea.

Yes, fairly literally:

• Min chef siger, at en kort arbejdsdag på onsdag gør hele ugen lettere.
• My boss says that a short workday on Wednesday makes the whole week easier.

This is one of those cases where Danish and English line up quite neatly in structure, even though some grammar details differ, such as the comma before at and the definite form in hele ugen.